The only mica I use on a regular basis, to date, is the Natural Poppy Golden Mica which is a pearly, gold powder found at local craft stores in the soap making department. However, I don't use it to "color" the soap rather, I use it to enhance a gold-family colorant to a more metallic sheen. Mica is a mined mineral that, for soap making purposes, is ground to a fine powder to which colorizing agents are added. It has a sparkly, reflective quality that is somewhat shinier than some of the other pearl powders. However, micas don't have the glitzy glamour of soap glitters . . . and, to my thinking, aren't as much fun!

Soap glitters are those which are specifically made for use in soap making. DO NOT CONFUSE them with standard craft glitters. Soap glitters are usually quite a bit finer in texture than standard glitters. Though I'm not certain that soap glitters dissolve, per se, I have not found an instance where use in soap making results in glitter on the skin.

FIFTEEN COLOR TIPS

1. When using any liquid colorant, do a color-drop test on a folded, white paper towel first.

2. To get a "true" red with liquid candle and soap colorants, try mixing equal parts of their "red" and orange.

3. To determine how many drops of liquid colorant are required for a given hue, melt one ounce of MAP soap base and add colorant one drop at a time. Five drops in one ounce means you'll need 20 drops in a 4-ounce bar of soap.

4. If colorant bottles (or containers) are not labeled by the manufacturer, label them as soon as they are removed from packaging.

5. In white/opaque soaps, crayons are an especially good choice for blues and browns.

7. There can be a dramatic difference in pigment strength in crayons, depending on the manufacturer. Do a test by coloring on a white sheet of paper. A waxy appearance, rather than the color, indicates a weaker pigment level.

9. Crayons can stain. Over-adding crayon increases the chances of staining but may also be too much wax, reducing the lathering quality of the soap or making it crumbly.

10. Non-bleeding colorants may be difficult to find in local craft stores, but online venues offer many options and price ranges.

11. Non-bleeding colors may separate. Shake bottle before each use.

12. For more reproducible results, use a craft stick to drip non-bleeding colorants into melted soap where the squeeze-drop bottle top is not provided.

13. Color cubes are extremely useful in determining the hue and amount of colorant needed with virtually any type of colorant.

14. Non-bleeding colorants are not clear and will cloud the clarity of clear soap bases.

15. Food coloring is a good choice for black colorant in clear soap. if you get a true black in white soap, you've added too much food coloring.

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(Left) Ten zippered pouches of soap glitter (purchased online from www.OregonTrailSoaps.com) and four small containers of glitters and micas which were purchased at a local craft store. Even with shipping charges, the online purchase was the better value and, as you can see, there are a lot more colors from which to choose.